Coming on the heels of the successful launch of an Eastern Regional Development Camp for 15-year-old boys, four USA Hockey districts have agreed to create a similar opportunity for girls.

The leaders of New York, Massachusetts, New England and the Atlantic districts are moving forward with plans to hold an Eastern Regional Development Camp for 15-year-old girls. The camp will take place Aug. 15-18 at the Nexus Center in Utica.

“The model worked so well last year that everyone is on board,” said Jodi Cullen, Girls Camp Director for the state. “We are looking to do similar things to what the camp looked like for boys last year and tailor it to females. We’re looking to give girls an experience that is something close to what they’d experience at a national camp.”

Districts will identify eligible players that were not selected to attend USA Hockey’s national camp for the 15-year-old level. 

The idea behind the creation of the camps is to expand the developmental pipeline by bringing more players together for several days of intensive training and development designed to give them the confidence and skills they need heading into the new season.

“We want to show these girls that they don’t have to give up just because they’ve dealt with disappointment. It doesn’t matter if they were named as an alternate or were the next one to make the team, that feeling of rejection sometimes can break an athlete,” Cullen said. “Having one more opportunity to keep players in the game is something that we’re really excited about.”

After each district has identified the next wave of girls, camp officials will hold a draft lottery where girls will be assigned to one of four teams. The purpose is to create balanced competition as some districts may have a deeper talent pool than others.

Based on the input from players, parents and camp officials who were on scene last year, the camp more than lived up to expectations, with the Nexus Center earning high praise for its state-of-the-art facilities.

“The facility was tremendous, and the weekend was great. I believe the other districts were pleased with how things went,” Mark Hogan, New York District co-director of boys’ player development, said after last year’s boys’ camp. “I specifically heard from some New York parents and players that they were happy with everything. I haven’t heard back from parents from other districts, but I would imagine that’s the same elsewhere.”